"Should-be" American League All-Star Team

As I wrote in the NL post, the All-Star Game selection process is a joke. So I've created these posts to show the guys who deserve it most and what the teams should actually look like. Here's the criteria for my All-Star teams:

Each roster has 31 roster spots. Actual MLB all-star rosters often feature a few more spots.

The starting lineups consist of the player at each position that is having the best overall year, offensive, defensive, and team performance all factored together. The bench has at least one backup for each position. To fill out the rest of the bench, the best remaining players regardless of position were selected. The pitching staffs include 4 relievers on each team, with the rest filled in with starters.

AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STARS
Starting Lineup
1. CF - Mike Trout (Los Angeles)
    All be it a down year for Trout, still an elite AL outfielder (.556 SLG, 45 RBI)
2. SS - Derek Jeter (New York)
    Usually this is a textbook case of popularity, but see 2001 All-star game. Happy Trails #2.
3. 1B - Miguel Cabrera (Detroit)
    Resident great in a good crop of 1B. .326 BA, 52 RBI
4. RF - Nelson Cruz (Baltimore)
    Breakout year. His past bothers me but he's clean and crushing baseballs
5. LF - Jose Bautista (Toronto)
    Rejuvinated year, .982 OPS with a climbing ball club
6. 3B - Josh Donaldson (Oakland)
    The elite of the AL 3B, top 5 in AL in RBI (50)
7. DH - Victor Martinez (Detroit)
    .330 BA with 136 TB in 61 gms. Guy is a bonified stud.
8. 2B - Robinson Cano (Seattle)
    .332 BA and trying to get the Mariners moving in the West
9. C - Salvador Perez (Kansas City)
    Slim pickings at Catcher in A.L, Perez stands out most.
P  Masahiro Tanaka (New York)
    The Japanese rookie sensation has earned the nod to start for the A.L
Bench
C- Kurt Suzuki (Minnesota)
    Leads al A.L Catchers in OPS, mainly here for the job he's done with MIN pitchers
1B - Jose Abreu (Chicago)
    Another rookie phenom turning heads. 19 HR, 50 RBI in 52 games
1B/DH- Edwin Encarnacion (Toronto)
    Part of the Toronto slugging company, set TOR record for HR in a month. Also 53 RBI
1B/DH- Brandon Moss (Oakland)
    Great story, continues to produce for A.L West leading A's (16 HR, 53 RBI)
2B- Jose Altuve (Houston)
    Leader of a young, talented Houston squad. .315 BA, 24 SB
3B- Adrian Beltre (Texas)
    Still getting it done defensively, .323 BA, .879 OPS.
SS- Alexi Ramirez (Chicago)
    Well-deserved for the young SS from the South Side, .312 BA, 34 RS
OF- Melky Cabrera (Toronto)
     Catalyst of an elite offense, .823 OPS, 43 RS
OF- Adam Jones (Baltimore)
     .301 BA, 40 RBI, very consistent and steady force for the O's
OF- Yoenis Cespedes (Oakland)
     Another young phenom deserving of an All-Star trip. 12 HR, 42 RBI

Pitchers
RHP- Felix Hernandez (Seattle)
     Might be the best pitcher in all of baseball
LHP- Mark Bhuerle (Toronto)
     Comeback POY candidate, first in ML to 10 wins, 2.04 ERA
LHP- Scott Kazmir (Oakland)
     Leading the A's elite pitching staff, 2.20 ERA, 0.98 WHIP
RHP- Yu Darvish (Texas)
     A bright spot in a tough season for the Rangers, 101 K's, 2.11 ERA
LHP- Dallas Keuchel (Houston)
     Star in the making for the Astros, 8-3, 2.38 ERA
RHP- Garrett Richards (Los Angeles)
     Another young power arm, 8.5 K/9, 1.10 WHIP, .211 OPP BA.
RHP- Sonny Gray (Oakland)
     Made a splash in the postseason, translated into good start to 2014. 2.83 ERA
RHP- Koji Uehara (Boston)
     ALCS MVP has picked up right where he left off. 13/13 SVS, 0.65 ERA
RHP- Fernando Rodney (Seattle)
     Under the radar in Seattle, 18/20 SVS, 2.19 ERA
RHP- Joakim Soria (Texas)
     13 SVS, 1.96 ERA, 0.70 WHIP. Another underrated closer.
RHP- Greg Holland (Kansas City)
     19/20 SVS, 1.43 ERA. Might be the toughest closer in baseball right now.

"Should-be" National League All-Star Team

Since the MLB All-Star Game is basically just a popularity contest (like any All-Star Game really), every year I put together the "should-be" All-Star team. MLB bases their starting lineups strictly on fan-voting, and most years the fans get it wrong. Not the whole lineups but decent chunks of them. Also MLB has a stipulation that every team, no matter how awful their record, must have an All-Star, which in turn often creates snubs out of guys that are more than deserving. I set up these teams using the following:

Each roster has 31 roster spots. Actual MLB all-star rosters often feature a few more spots.

The starting lineups consist of the player at each position that is having the best overall year, offensive, defensive, and team performance all factored together. The bench has at least one backup for each position. To fill out the rest of the bench, the best remaining players regardless of position were selected. The pitching staffs include 4 relievers on each team, with the rest filled in with starters.

NATIONAL LEAGUE ALL-STARS
Starting Lineup
1. CF- Andrew McCutchen (Pittsburgh)
     McCutchen is hitting .318 as the 3 hitter for the Pirates. Also 3rd in NL in OPS (.976)
2. 2B - Neil Walker (Pittsburgh)
     Leads all NL 2B in HR and RBI
3. LF - Yasiel Puig (Los Angeles)
    Games most exciting player, 2nd in MLB in OPS (.997)
4. RF - Giancarlo Stanton (Miami)
    Leads the entire NL in HR and RBI (17, 53)
5. 1B - Paul Goldschmidt (Arizona)
    The best of a real good 1B crop (.308 BA., 13 HR)
6. SS - Troy Tulowitzki (Colorado)
    Leads MLB in OPS (1.115), best SS hands down
7. DH - Charlie Blackmon (Colorado)
    Very deserving young OF, put him at DH for lineup balance
8. 3B- Todd Frazier (Cincinnati)
    Stands out strong in a weak 3B crop
9. C - Jonathan Lucroy (Milwaukee)
    Leads all NL Catchers in BA., OPS and doubles. Team is also 1st in Central
P - Johnny Cueto (Cincinnati)
    Stats across the board make Cueto a fairly easy decision

Bench
C- Yadier Molina (St.Louis)
    Resident NL's best catcher, still an All-Star especially defensively   
1B- Anthony Rizzo (Chicago)
    A close 2nd best at first, Rizzo is having a break out year
1B- Freddie Freeman (Atlanta)
    NL's best defensive 1B, also having a solid year at the plate
1B- Adam LaRoche (Washington)
    Leads NL 1B in OPS and BA.
2B- Chase Utley (Philadelphia)
    Also a resident NL's best, Utley having one of his best seasons
3B- Pablo Sandoval (San Francisco)
    Need a back up 3B, NL's best team's leader gets the nod.
SS- Hanley Ramirez (Los Angeles)
    Most physically gifted SS, having a solid year for LA
OF- Carlos Gomez (Milwaukee)
    Break out season for Gomez, hitting .310 with 32 XBH
OF- Justin Upton (Atlanta)
    14 HR and 121 TB make Upton one of the NL's biggest threats
OF- Michael Morse (San Francisco)
    A rebound season for Morse in his new home, driven in 42 in 65 games.

Pitchers
RHP- Julio Teheran (Atlanta)
      Young stud having a break out season for ATL, 2.41 ERA
RHP- Tim Hudson (San Francisco)
     Fountain of youth in the Bay Area for Hudson, 6-2, 1.97 ERA
RHP- Adam Wainwright (St.Louis)
     Consistent NL elite, 0.93 WHIP in over 100 innings
RHP- Jason Hammel (Chicago)
     Best pitcher on a terrible team, 0.98 WHIP, almost a K per IP
LHP- Madison Bumgarner (San Francisco)
     Young ace of NL's best team
RHP- Josh Beckett (Los Angeles)
     No-hitter was no fluke, Beckett is back (2.35 ERA, 8.7 K/9)
RHP- Stephen Strasburg (Washington)
     Electric arm having a bounce back year in D.C
RHP- Jonathan Papelbon (Philadelphia)
     Since opening day, 14/14 SVS, 0.37 ERA
RHP- Huston Street (San Diego)
     Having a great year on NL's worst team. 18/18 SVS
RHP- Francisco Rodriguez (Milwaukee)
     Leads NL in Saves, 0.86 WHIP
RHP- Craig Kimbrel (Atlanta)
     Most intimidating closer, 18 SVS, 1.82 ERA

Not Quantity, But Quality Use of Opportunities Haunting Rangers

You could've heard a pin drop in Madison Square Garden at the exact moment that Jeff Carter ripped a one-time slapper past Henrik Lundqvist, to give the Kings a 1-0 lead in Game 3 on Monday night. But it wasn't just the 1-0 deficit that took the air out of the building, as it was the after effect of a crucial missed Power Play opportunity New York had just squandered. In the flow of the game, the Rangers had solidly outplayed the Kings to that point, yet they were still going into intermission trailing. From there the stats only became evidently unbalanced. The Rangers outshot LA, 17-8 in the 2nd period, yet lost the period 2-0. For the game New York doubled the shots and scoring chances that the Kings were able to generate, but when the final horn sounded, it was the Rangers who were victim of a 3-0 Game 3 loss and a 3-0 series deficit. Based on these facts it was interesting reading the Rangers post-game remarks to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. Some of the Rangers that spoke, said they needed to generate more opportunities to have success. Really? The Kings were able to score 3 times on just 15 shots. New York had 32. Yes, Lundqvist has to be better than that, but the amount of offensive opportunities does not seem to be an issue. "We have a lot of good examples (of what we’ve done well), but you have nothing to show for it, so it’s a matter of finding more ways to create... Just playing and outshooting a team doesn’t mean anything at this point" said Ryan McDonagh. Part of what he says is correct. Generating more chances doesn't mean anything, it's about finishing those chances into the back of the net. Don't get me wrong, last night Jonathan Quick was fantastic. His Game 3 performance will be the premier exhibition that is looked at should the Kings find themselves able to finish off this Cup Final. But there were at least 3 golden opportunites the Rangers had to finish off scoring chances, and either couldn't elevate the puck or had it slip off of their blade with an open net waiting. Hesitation is a team's worst enemy and its what lead to New York being 0 for 6 on the PP. On the reverse side, it was quick decision making and aggresiveness that put the Kings on top at the end of the 1st, and what allowed them to add on in the 2nd period. Teams that win Stanley Cups don't sit in the locker room after the game thinking what if. Unfortunately for the Rangers, that's exactly what seemed to be vocalized after Game 3. "I’m out of words to describe it,” said right wing Mats Zuccarello. “I feel like we’re a good team. We’re playing well. I didn’t feel like they had many chances. It’s tough to talk about it right now.” If New York is going to avoid elimination and win their first Stanley Cup since 1994, they have a tough task at hand. Only one team in professional sports has been able to overcome a 3-0 series deficit to win in a championship round (1942 Toronto Maple Leafs). For the Rangers, it means literally playing like there's no tomorrow. If they continue their Power Play hesitation, poor execution offensively and bad decision making, they will continue to ask "what if", only this time with no more opportunities to correct it

Quotes Credit: Pat Leonard, NYDN. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/hockey/rangers/thin-ice-quick-shutout-puts-rangers-brink-elimination-article-1.1823328

I'm Back

Hello everyone, now that I'm graduated and looking for a real big boy job I plan to start posting way more than I did before. I had to create a new blog because there was a problem connecting with my gmail account that the other blog was attached to, but regardless I'm back and ready to roll. Stay tuned daily for all sorts of sports banter and ridiculousness.